An overall art discussion concerning the problems in relation to and the need for low calorie bulking agents is to be found in CRC Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, May 1979, pages 401-413, Low Calorie Bulking Agents, by J. J. Beereboom et al. In this discussion it is stated that low calorie food of good quality can only be made with bulking agents having physical properties permitting replacement of the bulk and functional properties of the usual fat or carbohydrate, and also that two types of bulking agents for carbyhydrates are needed: (1) a soluble material that can replace sucrose and other simple carbohydrates in food, and (2) an insoluble material capable of replacing flour or starch. This invention is concerned with the soluble material type of bulking agent.
Among the known (low calorie) bulking agents of this kind Neosugar and Polydextrose are believed to be those most used commercially, and, thus, are presumed to be those considered by the art heretofore as the best in regard to properties which should be exhibited by bulking agents of the soluble type. They are not, however, ideal.
Neosugar (No. GB 2.072.679, and the Journal of Nutrition, Volume 114, No. 9, Sept. 1984, pp. 1574-1581), is sweet which is not necessarily an advantage as it is often wanted to achieve a controlled level of sweetness e.g. by means of an artificial sweetener, and further, Neosugar would exhibit an inferior stability at low pH values, if used in acidic drinks such as Coca Cola.TM. and the like. Neosugar is a sweenener comprising oligosaccharides having from 1 to 4 molecules of fructose bound to sucrose.
Polydextrose (U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,165, Food Technology, July 1981, 35 (7), 44049 (1981)), on the other hand, has a satisfactory stability at low pH values in acid drinks, but it exhibits an acid bitter taste which is difficult to mask.
Other bulking agents have been sugested to the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,316 describes sweetening foods with non-caloric di- or trisaccharides having L-hexose component However, the L-hexoses ordinarily do not exist in nature and cannot be assimilated by the human organizm, but are also expensive.
WO 82/03329 describes glucose polymers and a method for production thereof.
Thus, a need exists for an improved low calorie bulking agent that can replace sucrose and other soluble, low molecular weight carbohydrates in food. The bulking agent should exhibit the following combination of desirable properties: a) satisfactory taste, i.e. an almost neutral taste and at any rate not an acid, bitter taste; and b) satisfactory stability at low pH values.